I'm new to the forum and not sure if this is the correct place to post this.

I own a Pioneer Elite Pro-510 HD monitor, have had it about 4 years. I'm using a Zenith Sat-520 DirecTV HD receiver, component input.

Yesterday, the screen starts acting up. I'm watching a Showtime HD channel, the screen starts going lighter then flashes blue and goes back to normal brightness. This occurs about every 5 minutes or so, then become intermittent.

It sounds like you have a service issue. This was my favorite CRT. Most of the problems that I have had with the Elites have been in the power supplies or convergence board. I sold my PRO510 to a friend so I would have room for other HD sets, but I am having a new power supply put in my PRO119 as I still want to have an excellent SD set until we get HD over cable.

Hi DJ,
interestingly, I have the exact same problem with my Pioneer 610. Mine may be further along than yours. Mine flashes and changes brightness, but every now and then, it just powers itself off. I can't turn it back on with the remote after that and I have to cycle the main power on with the television's front switches. I just thought my set was getting old, however this roblem sounds common to a component in the set if you have the same problem. I was thinking all along that it was a problem with the blue crt and to replace it wouldn't be worth the money. Please let me know how the service works out as I think if it isn't too elaborate, I just might go for it myself.

I went to the Pioneer web site and found some local authorized service companies. Called one, described the problem. He said the same thing everyone else's service guy said, he'd never heard of that and will need to see it happen.

Thanks djguy for directing me here. I want to keep in contact on this problem. I contacted service yesterday and he said he would try to make it out this way today to look at problem. I'll post the results here as soon as I can, and hope you will do the same djguy.

He can't tell for sure at this point. He's leaning toward the blue crt or the drive assembly. I think we are going to work out a deal where he will replace the current drive assembly and see if this takes care of the problem. If not, the old assembly goes back and we come up with plan B.

DJ,
thanks for the running update; keep us posted. For me there will be some sort of go/no go decision based on the cost of repair. My local repair shop thought that if it got into replacing CRT's the cost could become prohibitively high; i.e., better to buy a new TV vs. investing so much in a TV that is 3 and 1/2 yrs. old (especially since I have a bit of 4:3 burn-in).

Here's the latest. After I posted that last message about what 3 things it could be, the repair guy got on the phone to Pioneer. They gave him some ideas about how to track the problem down.

Bottom line ... it appears to the be the blue crt drive assembly. The CRT itself is OK. He switched assemblies (blue for green) and we watched to see if we got a blue flash or a green flash. The flash was definitely green.

I don't have a price yet, but apparently this is the least expensive part on the list of possible problems. I'll let you know what price he quotes for the part installed if I can do it without breaking forum rules. It might have to be PM for anyone interested in how much this is going to cost.

BTW - this guy is great. He spent a lot of time on this and was very thorough. If anyone in N. Texas needs a high-end Pioneer guy, let me know and I'll PM you his name and number. He does projection and plasma work.

Originally posted by BliangDJ,
thanks for the running update; keep us posted. For me there will be some sort of go/no go decision based on the cost of repair. My local repair shop thought that if it got into replacing CRT's the cost could become prohibitively high; i.e., better to buy a new TV vs. investing so much in a TV that is 3 and 1/2 yrs. old (especially since I have a bit of 4:3 burn-in).

Thanks,

Bernie

Hi Bernie.

I was telling the repair guy about what you said about the monitor switching off. He said that made sense. The microprocessor will cut the power as a safety precaution if it senses a problem. The only way to override the power down is to use the power button on the monitor itself. That will force the power back on.

DJ,
thanks again for the rolling updates. It just seems so strange that the blue drive is the one that's faulty on a number of sets. Judging by the way you were able to swap with the green and make the green "fail" it seems like the drives are equivalent and therefore equally likely to have the drive fail on red or green as well. Once again, keep us posted on your final result. BTW if you are uncomfortable osting final repair cost, I would definitely appreciate it if you would PM.

Originally posted by Bliang
[b] It just seems so strange that the blue drive is the one that's faulty on a number of sets. Judging by the way you were able to swap with the green and make the green "fail" it seems like the drives are equivalent and therefore equally likely to have the drive fail on red or green as well.

That's a good point Bernie. What's strange is that since he left, after switching the drive assemblies back, the problem has not happened again. It was intermittent to start with, so it may be just a matter of time before it starts up again.

DJ,
in my case, the problem can go away for days or perhaps a week or two without any evidence, but it always comes back. That's why in my case I thought I was going to just wait until my TV failed. For me the problem is very intermittent.

My technician couldn't make it on Tuesday, but his sidekick said she would do some investigating. She called Pioneer and was told that when system acts up go into display to determine if all the colors are there. Other than I still didn't quite understand what they meant by that, they also told her that I should move the set out and bang my fist or hand onto the back. I did this and noticed it didn't seem to work, that is, until I tried it a second time. It worked and through last night all the colors on the display were picture perfect. That was one night, we"ll see how it turns out tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Originally posted by BliangDJ,
in my case, the problem can go away for days or perhaps a week or two without any evidence, but it always comes back. That's why in my case I thought I was going to just wait until my TV failed. For me the problem is very intermittent.

Bernie

If that's what's happening on my set, I can live with it for the time being. Mine still has not exhibited the blue flash since the repair guy left.

Quote:

he called Pioneer and was told that when system acts up go into display to determine if all the colors are there. Other than I still didn't quite understand what they meant by that, they also told her that I should move the set out and bang my fist or hand onto the back.

Wow, are you kidding or did they say to do that for real? If so, that's scarey as hell.

I wouldn't joke about this matter, that is what Pioneer's instructions were. The picture was without problems last night. I have had these flashing problems since late last year. You mentioned that it may be that the boards are not properly seated after unit being in service for a period of time. I really gave the TV several hard whacks with my hand. As I said it didn't have an effect the first time I tried it, so really gave it some real hard whacks in the back the second time. By the way, my subwoofer is not far from the right side of TV. I haven't moved the TV back against wall yet, and will wait to see how often this big buzzard needs to be whacked.

I know this sounds crazy, but believe me I couldn't have made it up. By the way, is your technician planning on replacing the blue driver unit? After living with this problem since late last year, I can't believe that a few whacks could solve the problem. For right now I'm waiting to see what happens. I have had two whole evenings of TV without those blue explosions.

I wouldn't joke about this matter, that is what Pioneer's instructions were.

By the way, is your technician planning on replacing the blue driver unit?

I believe you, I'm just shocked that Pioneer would suggest such a thing.

No, I told him to hold off ordering. He didn't get as far as finding out how much it would cost. If the problem is gone for now, I'm going to wait to see how this thing plays out before I shell out for a new part.

Quote:

Originally posted by Larry HutchinsonWhacking a TV to fix an intermittent problem is a time-honored tradition.

I was going to suggest it myself but the set is so large and heavy, I figured it would be ineffective.

Yeah, over the years I've whacked a few components here and there with mixed results. I just figured the set would be too sensitive for shock treatment.

DJ: I personally think that this is a "seating" problem with a board in the chasis. Otherwise why would the whacks seem to temporarily take care of the problem. In other words your technician simply removing and reinserting the board in your unit may well have solved the problem. Last night turned unit on and there it was, that exploding bright and blue. Gave the set a couple whacks, nothing, then gave it a few more and then thought this is nonsense, so moved the set back against the wall and the picture was just fine for the evening. Will call the technician and have him unplug and reinsert the blue driver board. If this doesn't solve the problem will probably buy a fine little 6 lb. projector and install in room in basement. And if this little baby gives me problems, I can simply pick it up and drop it on the floor. I "would or will" miss the fine picture that I usually had on the Pioneer.

Boy, am I glad I found this thread! I just noticed the blue flash on my 510 tonight. At first I thought it was the program I am watching (CSI). But then I also noticed that it went bright and then dimmed. Now I know I wasn't seeing things...On second thought, I guess I shouldn't be glad that my TV has problems...

Anyway, are any of you still having the problem after you whacked the TV? I may try doing that before I call the repair guy.

Originally posted by MSLAnyway, are any of you still having the problem after you whacked the TV? I may try doing that before I call the repair guy.

DJ:
Can you send me your repair guy's info? Thanks,

Ming

Hi Ming. Sorry to hear you are having the same problem we've been having.

Since the repair guy fiddled with the blue CRT's drive assembly, basically reseating it, I have not re-experienced the blue flash.

However, I have reevaluated the repair guy. The blue flash is gone, but he talked me into unneccesarily fine tuning the convergence. When he did his fine tuning, he totally screwed up the focus. I had to call him back out to fix it, it's still not as good as it was. I would no longer recommend this guy to anyone.

DJ & MSL, finally had repairman in yesterday. He said that the connection with the blue crt board appeared to be loose. He did some soldering but when I turned the unit on last night the flashes returned for about a half hour then disappeared for the rest of evening. Whether this improved the situation, I am not sure. He said if this didn't work, he would order and replace the blue crt board. He commented the board is not real expensive, but I will wait and see if I get the blue flashes tonight. It appears to me the blue flashes were not as pronounced during that 30 minute period last night. Let me analyize this situation tonight and tomorrow and I'll get back on the board here to let you know what happens.

I really like the texture of the pictures of the Pioneer 510 and want to give it every chance, within reason, before making a final decision on what I am going to do.

I opened up the front panel of my 510 last night and re-seated the blue CRT connector. I didn't get any blue flashes last night. However this morning I did get a few, but not as much as before. I am going to try to clean the connector today and see if that helps.

Originally posted by MSLDJ, thanks for the reply. I may try to fix it myself this weekend. Sorry to hear about the convergence problem.

Ming

Thanks Ming. I went in and fine tuned the convergence, point by point, and now it looks as good as it did before I paid that yahoo good money to muck it up. I guess I can't complain too much as the blue flash problem has still not returned and now the picture looks pristine again.

Has your blue flash come back after you reseated the blue crt board?

I have to agree with what others have said, it's very odd that the only board that needs reseating/reconnecting is the blue crt. There has to be some logical reason for this.

Does anyone know how to contact someone at Pioneer who can talk about this problem?

Originally posted by sawmillDJ & MSL, finally had repairman in yesterday. He said that the connection with the blue crt board appeared to be loose. He did some soldering but when I turned the unit on last night the flashes returned for about a half hour then disappeared for the rest of evening. Whether this improved the situation, I am not sure.

After I re-seated the blue CRT cable, the blue flash went away a few hours but returned the next morning (maybe cooled down?). Last I checked, the TV will now flash and stay at high contrast level for a length of time (5-10 minutes) before returning to my normal setting. I am going to check the other connectors. Doesn't it make sense that if it flashes blue, the other CRT should be off?